The Test and Trace Corps person who interviewed me told me I could be put up in a hotel while I was under quarantine.
What? How would I travel to the hotel if it were possible I had been infected?
Surviving the pandemic can be harder for individuals living with mental health issues.
On a regular day a person with OCD might have the urge to wash their hands repeatedly.
Now we’re in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and washing your hands for 20 seconds throughout the day is the norm.
This irony is not lost on me.
How have I survived living through the pandemic?
In the early months I had my pharmacy deliver my pill bottles to my apartment. The independent pharmacy offers free delivery. I tipped the person who brings my pills $4.
You could use CVS or Rite Aid or a national chain to fill your prescriptions. I prefer to use an independent pharmacy with the free delivery option. Supporting small businesses is one of my goals.
Isolation can breed paranoia and illness.
It’s strange yet true that I don’t like being holed up in my apartment when I have nothing to do. Even though I was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
What has been the hardest for me was not being able to perform at poetry readings and have dinner in restaurants with others.
The absence of joy is no joke.
Depression can cause fatigue.
The one good thing was that for the most part consistently for the last year I was able to exercise in my living room.
Keeping up exercising is the key factor rather than stopping totally for a long stretch of time.
What saved me was that I kept exercising even if it was just one day a week for 30 minutes.
We are closer to normalcy. Yet we are not there yet.
I will continue to protect myself by wearing a mask everywhere washing my hands for 20 seconds throughout the day and maintaining 6 feet distance from others even when masked.
To end here I will say that I understand how hard surviving the pandemic has been for those of us with mental health issues.
WorkingAssets 